Judith Ortiz Cofer and Cofer Essay

!
In “Casa: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood” the author Judith Ortiz Cofer writes about how her childhood was difficult, growing up in two worlds “the tropical island and the cold city”(38). She also talked about how her family would gather around and tell stories that would impact Cofer and her cousins life. These stories were passed down form generation to generation. These stories also showed Cofer and her cousin what to avoid in life and what to engage in life. The stories ended up becoming very important to Cofer and a huge part of her life.

The family stories would talk about life on the island versus their life now in the city. These stories had an influence on her. Cofer writes, “I grew up in two worlds, the tropical island and the cold city, and that would later surface in my dream and in my poetry.”(38). These stories affected her poetry and literature but they also entered her imagination and she began to dream about them. Hopefully she will keep these stories a dream and not turn her ancestors stories into her reality. The family “always embellishing them with a little or a lot of dramatic detail.”(38).
Meaning what the women are telling the young children are a little more exaggerated then what really happened just so they do whats right in life and not mess up like they did.

The stories that were told to Cofer and her cousin mainly taught them how to live life as a woman, especially a Puerto Rican woman in America(38). Cofer writes, “At three or four o’clock in the afternoon, the hour of cafe con leche, the women of my family gathered in
Mama’s living room to speak of important things and retell familiar stories meant to be overheard by us young girls, their daughters.”(37). This statement shows how they would all

gather around when they were together and tell stories passed down. Cofer would believe whatever her family told her from the stories.

Cofer faces many challenges living as a multicultural person in the world. When she spoke
English she had a Spanish accent and when she spoke Spanish she had an English accent(40).
This is why Cofer was look at differently by her peer, they made her feel like an “oddball” (40).
This is why when her grandma would tell stories about begin a Puerto Rican women in America because of her “two-way accent”(40). Cofer took everything that Mama would say and process it. Cofer uses her grandmother’s life stories to make it through her difficult childhood. Mama wants to give all the women of the family values to live by.

Cofer’s childhood was difficult for her. She would move around the country all the time. Cofer writes, “Mama would be weaving my hair into a flat plait that required pulling apart the two actions of my hair with little jerks that made my eyes water”(39). This statement means that with
Cofer living two lives it makes her who she is today. Cofer states, “I felt my grandmother’s hands teaching me about strength, her voice convincing me of the power of storytelling.”(41).
Meaning that Cofer understands why her grandmother is telling her these stories. Yes it hurts her living these two lives but if it wasn't for that to happen it wouldn't have influenced her…

Related Documents: Judith Ortiz Cofer and Cofer Essay

Lourdes Ortiz
William Ramsey
CUL 2216 A
21 October, 2014
Italy
Known for their exquisite food, gorgeous scenery, and buzzing nightlife, Italy, captivates the hearts of millions of tourist that flock to the different regions and islands. Chaotic and peaceful; ancient and modern Italy attracts over 47 million tourists a year. Italy is located in Southern Europe and the island has the shape of a boot. Protected from the North winds by the Apennine and Alp mountains. Due to its rugged, mountainous…

was removed from school. For the next four years he helped his father make whatever money he could until he was eighteen, when he met and fell in love with, and married Anne Hathaway. Together they had three children Suzanne, and twins Hamnet and Judith. unfinished
Shakespeare’s first known work was a poem. He wrote this poem for his wedding. At a young age William tried his hand at teaching. It wasn’t until 1587, when the Queen’s Men came to town, that Shakespeare began working in the theater.…

Michael Aye
Theology
Reflection Paper
Book of Judith
The book of Judith is just filled with war, pain, and triumph. First off it starts you out with talking about the war between the Assyrians and the Medes, and how crazy the town of Ecbatana is surrounded by this glorious wall. Just like every war King Nebuchadnezzar needed helped and he asked many different nations to assist him. However, those nations did not believe the Assyrians had a fighting chance so they all turned him down and so…

if the person is someone close to the author. Specifically, the authors of the literary works “American History”, “Angela’s Ashes”, and “The Butterfly” all exhibit proper use of context, which allows the reader to understand their purposes.
Judith Ortiz Cofer in “American History,” needs both historical and cultural context in order to provide proper setting, purpose, and tone in her story. After an initial reading of the story, the reader may just think the story is about a girl who was confused…

Vanessa Smith
April 23, 2014
Baroque Case Study
Dr. Carissa Massey
The Strongest Judith
A principal of European style in the visual arts of the 17th century and the first half of the 18th was the Baroque period, it was strongly based on the characteristics of a painter called, Caravaggio. Caravaggio had a talent for his use of naturalist realism and dramatic lighting and shading in his paintings. A student of Caravaggio and Orazio’s daughter, Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the great painters…

Monique Ortiz
My Personal Philosophy
Everyone has their own view of life. Whether they are good morals or even bad, it all differs. This could also be known as one’s personal philosophy. People develop and shape their own personal philosophy throughout their whole life. What we go through over the years and the experiences we may come across, can radically change our views, depending on our age, social status and personal qualities. One might consider loyalty, honesty and tolerance to be very important…

Judith and her family moved to United Stated because of economic pressures on their growing family. Her father joined the Navy and was assigned to duty on a ship in Brooklyn Yard. In 1995, they lived in a tiny apartment in a huge tenement that once housed Jewish families but was taken over by Puerto Ricans. The apartment they were living in was small, have thin walls and heater pipes that bangs and rattles that startled them out of sleep. Those pipes are connected to all the other people that lived…

Part 1: Summary
The main points discussed in Judith Ortiz Cofer’s essay “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” are the myths and hardships Latin women have endured due to their portrayal in the media. Cofer gives two good examples of these hardships. An incident while in London of a man singing “Maria” to her from a movie called West Side Story while on a public bus, and an intoxicated man in a hotel lobby with his daughter singing a crude and dirty version of “La Bamba”.…

placed in plain view of the public in order to be glorified and venerated; yet there seems to be a problem with “traditional” way of viewing art in all its beauty, static or fluid, contemporary or modern. In her essay “High Culture Goes Hands-On”, Judith Dobrzynski, (The New York Times, Aug.10, 2013), gives her own opinion of the modernization of the way people see art, and hints that museums might lose “their identity” if they continue to conform to the general public’s demands.
Dobrzynski starts…

Words 638 - Pages 3

* Test names and other trademarks are the property of the respective trademark holders. None of the trademark holders are affiliated with this website.